Objective Justice
by Iseki
Summary: Chie/Akihiko drabbles Spanning from friendship to romantic or simply introspective. Chie has entered the police force where Akihiko is already a reputable member. Taking place after Ultimax, but no following timeline specified. Not necessarily continuative. Requests welcome.
1. First Day Rookie

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Chie Satonaka was pretty sure that the average adult's day began like this: wake up, snooze the alarm, wake up for real this time, eat a complete breakfast (she prefers hers with grilled fish), and head out to work where things would continue in a curious but mostly predictable manner until lunch. While these steps would of course include the odd interruption or change they were still generally low on the danger scale of safe to definitely life-threatening. Her very first day on the job was meant to be filled with boring paperwork and observation. She would get to meet her new partner and begin the lengthy journey of lifelong camaraderie. They would meet, argue, strike up a rivalry, and eventually grow so loyal that their inevitable parting would be retirement, decades down the road.

Jun Ishida, her partner of barely three hours, was lying motionless about a yard or two away. His blue shirt was stained with red.

Chie's legs were shaking. She'd conquered the TV world, conquered the Grand Prix, even survived the Climax. The end of the world no longer scared her. Yet here, crouched behind the convenience store counter she was petrified. Here her contact with Tomoe was throttled. She had no experience to call upon. In the real world she was vulnerable.

Her radio crackled, sputtering to life. With clammy fingers she clutched it in her panic, making it silent. She was not alone. The broken glass that lie just outside her hiding place crunched under a heavy boot. Earlier the gunshots had shattered one of the drinks coolers that displayed many bottles. They were still here; waiting.

She tried to catch her breath, to find her center. It was her first day and _damn it_ she was going to get out of this. She thought of Yukiko and Yosuke, Kanji and Naoto, Rise and Teddie. She thought of Souji. Even in a situation like this he would know how to come out on top.

The radio spat again this time muffled by her skin. She sucked in a breath as she reached for her firearm. She wasn't even meant to have one authorised to her until her probation had passed. Ishida had convinced her to carry it when the call had come in. It didn't matter that she was more comfortable with her own fists and feet than with a gun, she would get out of this. Another crunch, a whispered hush of nervous words. The perpetrator was on edge. She could do this.

With the radio speaker peeking through her remaining free hand the noise once again reached her ears. Less of a crackle this time, more like a voice. No... it WAS a voice.

"- _Satonaka-kun- Chie_ -"

Her heart leapt; not only a voice but one she knew!

"Master!" she choked, trying to keep her tone low. Relief flooded her senses but she refused to let it consume her; to do so would be her undoing. "But you're supposed to be off duty..."

There was a terse chuckle on the other end.

"- _You're caught up in your first hostile situation and that's your only concern?_ -"

Akihiko's voice was low and soothing. The fact that he could laugh at all filling her with confidence. "Well, someone has to stop you from working too hard..." Her hushed tone was coarse with emotion.

A pause, silence. There was a rustle in both the store and over the comm line. The force outside and the culprit nearby planning their next moves.

She would not stay helpless during the clash.

"- _Yeah_ ," he answered finally, timbre all soft. "- _I look forward to that lecture later_ -"


	2. Snow Down

The snow was a thick blanket. On an already four foot deep bed.

Had they not already been sat down along the counter with two steaming beef bowls she might have minded. As it turns out she was happy to remain holed up for the rest of the afternoon, evening even.

She slurped noisily from hers while a glass next to her was raised to lips, emptied, and set back upright. The silence was comfortable to them both.

"It's like a complete blank out there. Can't see a thing,"

The person next to her had a voice that was something like honeyed ginger candy; all sweet and spicy at the same time. Though she did have to wonder why he was speaking instead of eating.

"Makes you think maybe the rest of the world has stopped existing for the moment," she replied, not hesitating over the crispy string of meat that poked out the side of her mouth. She edged his bowl towards him with the tip of her chopsticks.

For a moment Akihiko looked mildly panicked, as though he were actually considering such a thing to be true. Chie almost felt bad for him. There had been way too many tragedies in his lifetime if he had to scrutinize every lack-of-judgement joke. She swallowed heavily, finding that she didn't quite chew that last bite well enough.

His eyes were like clear grey glass until he smiled; the shape crinkling at the corners. The hand that was not occupied with chopsticks found her hair and ruffled it until it stuck out of place. While she couldn't help but feel his junior at this there was a warmth that reached all the way to her toes to share in this private moment.

"Maybe," he said, returning to his beef bowl.


	3. Not Ready

When had it started and why hadn't he noticed...

His position as Squad Commander erstwhile Shadow Operative did not leave his schedule terribly open, but even this did not seem like a valid excuse.

Chie Satonaka went about her duties in a manner that was drooping and utterly lackluster in comparison to her usual vibrancy. He and the rest of the team were inclined to take advantage of her resilience, relying on her for cheer and that undying optimism that had been instilled in her since she'd arrived from Inaba. It felt utterly wrong to have the tables turned.

The station was dark and empty, the others long since gone. Her desk light shone a circle of yellow onto stacked, messy file folders. Her head was in her hands. When they were alone he could drop the formality.

"Chie, it's late, you should get going."

She didn't look up.

"Don't know if I can."

Akihiko gave pause, not sure he understood the answer correctly. She was fit and healthy. There was nothing currently binding her to her desk.

"The paperwork will wait," he tried gently.

"Not that," she returned slowly, her voice thick with something he couldn't quite place. She seemed hesitant to say anything more, to the point that he had to shift on his heels to make sure she knew he hadn't finished waiting. "I don't know if I can do any of this."

He felt his eyebrows crease before he'd even decided how he would answer her. With Chie he'd always had a sense that they understood each other. It was surprising yet natural. She was being purposefully cryptic now but he didn't waste time second guessing that he knew her thoughts.

The guilt was instantaneous.

"You're wrong," he said, taking the remaining steps between his place and her desk. "You're doing great."

While he waited for Chie to look up at him he thought back over the last week. All the signs he had been too busy to see were now glaringly obvious. When she finally did look to him her eyes were wet with tears that refused to fall.

For a minute he struggled with how to act. To wipe the tears away seemed to intimate, to simply stand there was definitely not enough. He had never been great at handling women. He satisfied himself by pulling her up out of her seat; her small wrist warm in his fingers.

"What if I'm not ready," she asked, the quietness to the words giving away the depth of her unease. He thought back to the episode in the convenience store, when the armed robbery had gone awry. She had been nearly as terrified then, and still come out fighting.

He didn't question it this time. He took her cheek in hand and rubbed away a tear that threatened to fall with his thumb.

"You're strong, you're resourceful, and your brave-"

Chie started to smile, even though he knew she was still feeling small and reserved in her abilities. That was okay, he'd look after her better from now on.

"-you're ready."


	4. What Feeling

He was on the phone to Mitsuru when Chie came in, two coffees in hand and a conversation already starting on her lips. Their prefecture was fairly rural and their force a modest size. Out of the few other officers she seemed to have chosen him as her gossiping partner.

"- I can't believe he's being such a coward, it makes my blood boil," She handed him one cup, a little forcefully, the coffee looking decidedly more milky and black. "When will he manage to find the guts to just stand up and say how he truly feels, it's just so-"

" _It sounds like you're busy_ ," Mitsuru's cool voice on the other end was amused. Despite their rather important exchange of notes on another dusty Ergo Research experiment, she was all too ready to cut the call short.

"-I just don't get what it is with guys, are their egos actually that enormous that they have trouble accepting anything or-"

Chie hadn't even stopped long enough to look at him to see the handset glued between the side of his face and angled shoulder.

" _Satonaka-san has a point you know. It really isn't healthy to keep feelings bottled up. Not for_ ANY _reason._ "

Akihiko's mouth opened to reply but he was unable to produce any sound. His eyes were pinned on Chie and Mitsuru had claimed his ear. He had no idea what either of them were talking about, but the overwhelming sense of dread was enough to make his blood run cold.

"Ah, is that Mitsuru-san? Say hi for me!" She beamed, leaning over the desk as though to get closer to the receiver.

" _Forget your report Akihiko, Aigis will handle the rest_."

"-But," he felt cornered.

" _I'd much rather you spent your time attending to your subordinates for now_ ," Mitsuru finished, her tone smiling. Without so much as a goodbye, the line went dead.

Chie was still grinning from ear to ear, her paper cup resting on her lap between both hands. Whatever it was that'd had her so fired up a second ago was all but forgotten. She was waiting patiently for him to divulge any new information about the shadow world they shared in.

Akihiko was worried that whatever had been shared between the two women and passed completely over his head was far more dangerous than anything within his report.

"I think break time is over..."


	5. Trusting

It wasn't often that either of them got sick. Thanks to a healthy regime of exercise and protein they were by far the least absent members of the team.

Akihiko lived in a small apartment building close to the station, and Chie couldn't help feeling awkward when she realized she'd never visited him before- that the mere act of appearing now suggested something new to their relationship dynamic. She was stood in the entrance, poised with her finger over the buzzer and contemplating wildly as the door swung open.

Her cry of surprise coaxed a similar sound out of him.

"You're already here," he said, voice decidedly croaky. His eyes were dark and his skin pallid. The shadow of his unshaven facial hair showed across his chin. Even his pale hair looked paler to her.

"Of course, you did say 11:00 right," she managed finally, glad to hear herself sound so perky and normal, "And what are _you_ doing out of bed?"

"Oh," he looked at his hand distractedly, almost as though he wasn't sure what he would find there. A half-empty refuse bag hung from his fingers.

"Are you... Are you cleaning?" she asked incredulously.

"N-no, this is,"

"Whatever," Chie cut him off shortly. she struggled to classify this moment as 'cute' when it was so hard to watch her master so flustered and clearly ill at the same time. She put it down to the fever. "I'll take that!"

One the recyclables had been safely sorted, she swapped her sneakers for a pair of stiff indoor slippers. Akihiko's apartment still felt temporary despite the fact that he'd lived they for fourteen and a half months to date. There were open boxes of assorted items. What little he did have on display was the odd trophy or piece of fitness equipment. There was a small desk that was kept neat with paperwork and some electronic items she couldn't recognize. Shadow Operative stuff most likely. Rather than ask she was simply happy that he was comfortable enough to let her peek.

"Which way to the kitchen?" she smiled.

For a moment Akihiko looked at her with something akin to fear in his eyes. If he'd waited a single moment longer to reply she would have been sure that someone had told him about the curry episode back in high school. She was already half way through her alibi and plan to find and destroy the culprit who had slandered her good name when his head nodded in the direction of the hallway.

"First on the left," his wariness had melted into submission under the heat of his illness. It was the same voice she'd heard desperate on the end of the phone. She would have to cut him some slack and save any teasing for later.

"Alright, back to bed now. Leave everything to me!"

He groaned, turning away and looking back to her. His large if slightly slumped shoulders granting this consent.


End file.
